Aerial flare



Feb; 12, 1946.

J. F. CAVANAGH AERIAL FLARE Filed Oct. 1, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 12, 1946. J. F. CAVANAGH AERIAL FLARE Filed Oct. 1, 1942 4 Sheets-:Sheet 3 QWY A J W Feb. 12, 1946. J. F. CAVANAGH AERIAL FLARE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4' Filed Oct. 1, 1942 Patented F eb. 12, 1946 rear orricn AERIAL FLARE Application October 1, 1942, Serial No. 460,341

11 Claims.

When an aerial flare of the type embodying a candle, a parachute, and a stabilizing sleeve for the parachute is launched from a plane, the stabilizing sleeve is withdrawn from the flare case immediately, and the flare falls to the point at which its timing mechanism has been set to accomplish the withdrawal of the parachute from the flare case and the ignition of the candle, whereupon the parachute is withdrawn from the flare case and the candle ignited.

Inasmuch as the sleeve and parachute, together with their respective shrouds and the sleeve-release cable, are packed in folded, or coiled condition within the flare case, it is essential that all components of the assembly shall function in a positive and reliable manner so as to reduce to the minimum the danger of fouling as they successively withdraw from the flare case. It is likewise desirable to accomplish the positive release of the stabilizing sleeve from the parachute at the moment that said sleeve has completed its function of guiding the parachute into position for inflation so that the sleeve may float free of the parachute without danger of fouling the same.

One factor which makes for fouling, in aerial flares as heretofore constructed, is that the released parachute generally opens with a jerk which has to be sustained by the parachute shrouds as they are withdrawn from the flare case, and which if not minimized or absorbed, is apt to cause the shrouds to foul and in some instances rupture, thereby preventing proper functioning of the flare.

Another factor which makes for fouling, in aerial flares as heretofore constructed, is that jars and shocks incidental to shipment and handling of the flares tend to jam or otherwise damage the fastenings which retain the assembly within the flare case, thereby preventing proper functioning of the flare.

Accordingly, the broad object of my present invention is to so assemble a parachute and its stabilizing sleeve, together with their respective shrouds and the sleeve-release cable, within a flare case, as to reduce to the minimum the danger of fouling when the flare is in flight.

In accomplishing this object, I provide a reel or spool of special design on which the parachute shrouds and sleeve-release cable are laid in a special manner. The design of said spool is such that when it is rotated in its unwinding direction the parachute shrouds will unwind therefrom without danger of fouling, and the method of attaching said sleeve-release cable to said spool is such that when said spool has reached a predetermined point in its unwinding rotation said cable is automatically detached therefrom, thereby enabling the stabilizing sleeve to float free without danger of fouling the parachute.

Another object is to incorporate -shock. absorbing functions within the reel or spool designed to prevent stressing the parachute shrouds to the rupture point when the parachute opens with a jerk.

In accomplishing this object I provide a torsional spring within the spool body and a shroud controlled pawl and ratchet mechanism. One turn of the parachute shroud group normally holds the pawl out of action with respect to said ratchet. When in the unwinding action of the spool said turn is unwound from the spool body, the spool automatically becomes locked to the ratchet through said pawl, thereby offering resistance to the unwinding of the remaining shrouds. Such spring resistance applies a shock absorber effect to take up any stresses on the. shrouds due to uneven or jerky opening of the released parachute.

By varying the number of turns in the shroud group which is subject to the torsional resistance of said spring before the pawl-releasing turn is laid on the spool body, it is possible to regulate the amount of shock absorbing action to be applied to the parachute shrouds at predetermined points in the unwinding action thereof. Once such adjustment has been determined by actual trial, all spools and shrouds may be thereafter assembled with the assurance that the shockabsorbing action will be uniform for all flares thus adjusted.

Because of the considerable latitude for adjustment in this respect, and also in respect to the point in the unwinding rotation of the spool at which the sleeve-release cable shall be freed from the spool, my flare may be set to function at points and under circumstances not possible with flares now in service.

Another object is to provide an assembly wherein the functions of the several parts may be checked at the place of assembly without requiring destructive tests of the parts involved.

Another object is to provide the parachute package with a collapsible cover, together with a lock of such design as to permit the cover to be collapsed and the parachute withdrawn from the flare case at the proper time without the necessity of either the stabilizing sleeve or the parachute carrying when released extraneous parts which were used to retain them in the flare case.

Other features which render my flare more simple and inexpensive of construction and more dependable in operation than flares of comparable type now in service will appear as the description proceeds.

Although I have disclosed in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment of my invention which well illustrates the principles involved, I recognize that the invention is susceptible of various changes as to the form, size, proportions and construction and arrangement of its component parts.

Fo convenience of illustration, I have omitted from such drawings those features of the flare which either form no part of my present invention or are disclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 458,677, filed September 17, 1942.

It will be understood, however, that although not necessarily restricted thereto, the novel assemblies of my present invention are particularly useful when embodied in a flare equipped with the mechanical release mechanism disclosed in said application aforesaid for stripping the flare case from the illuminant and-its supporting parachute and for igniting the illuminant at a we determined point in the fall of the flare.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional View of an aerial flare in accordance with my invention showing the various parts in the positions they occupy before the parachute and its stabilizing sleeve are withdrawn from th flare case.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view showing the flare in an intermediate stage of its flight at which time the stabilizing sleeve and the parachute have both been Withdrawn from the flare case, the sleeve has opened and is ready to be detached from the parachute as soon as the parachute is inflated, and the illuminant assembly has been partly withdrawn from the flare case.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view through the flare case in the region of the shroud pool.

Fig. 4 is an end view of Fig. 3 as seen from the left.

Fig. 5 is an end view of Fig. 3 as seen from the right.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section through the flare case, particularly showing the collapsible cover and its lock for the parachute package.

Fig. 7 is a section on the line !'I, of Fig. 6, and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional detail at the top of the parachute, particularly showing the leevereleasing cable.

I have indicated generally at It a conventional sheet metal flare case having at its tail end the the usual rigid stabilizing vanes or fins H.

Slidably supported within the flare case is the illuminant assembly comprising a tubular member l2 of suitable material adapted to retain a compressed illuminant composition l3 and preferably, although not necessarily, having mounted on its exterior a sectional fire resistant shade is.

The lower end of member 12 is fitted with a sheet metal closure [5 which serves as a mounting for a spring motor housing l6. Contained within said housing is a timing mechanism for controlling the operation of the flare case release mechanism, of which only the ejecting spring ll is shown in these drawings, and which mechanism functions to strip the flare case from the illum nant and ignite the illuminant at a predetermined point in the fall of the flare, all as described in my copending application aforesaid.

' engaging ratchet 45 (see Fig. 5).

A light cable l8 controls the starting of the timing shaft of the timing mechanism. Cable I8 is attached to cord I9 carried by the stabilizing sleeve for the parachute. Cord l9 operate the lock for the cover of the parachute package, as hereinafter described.

Illuminant container i2 is centrally positioned within the flare case it by means of a ring as attached to the upper end of said container. Also attached to the upper end of said container i2 is a U-shaped bracket comprising spaced arms 2i and 22 within which i journaled the shaft 23 of a tubular spool body 24 (see Fig. 3) provided with heads 25 and 25' of fibre or equivalent material.

Laid around the spool body are the parachute shrouds 26 for the parachute 27. Parachute 2! is packed within a sectional tubular laminated spacer 2B. The lower end of spacer 23 rests on ring is. Adjacent the upper end of spacer 28 is a pair of spaced discs 29 and 3.53 of fibre or the like which form a compartment within which the folded parachute is contained.

Surmounting disc 39 and spaced therefrom by tubular spacer 3! is a collapsible cover 32.

Surmounting Cover 32 and spaced therefrom is a disc 33 of cardboard or the like, which with a second disc 34, defines a compartment within which is packed the parachute-stabilizing sleeve 35, the shrouds for which are indicated at 36 and the sleeve-release cable at 3'! (see Fig. 2).

Surmounting disc 35 and spaced therefrom is a removable cover 38 for the fiare case and disposed in the space between disc 34 and cover 38 is the hang-wire 39 by means of which sleeve 35.

is attached to the launching rack of the aeroplane.

Mounted on bracket arm 2| is a ratchet 4B the hub of Which projects within and supports one end of the spool body 24. Cooperating with ratchet 49 is a pawl 4! (see Fig. 4) pivoted at 42 to spool head 25 and spring-tensioned in any suitable manner as by the blade spring 43.

Shaft 23'isintegrally connected to ratchet 43 and bracket arm 2| at one end and at its opposite end is supported by bracket arm 22.

Mounted between bracket arm 22 and the adjacent end of the spool body 24 is a ratchet 45 having a hub portion which extends within and supports the spool .body at this end.

Mounted within the spool body 24 and surrounding shaft 23 is a torsional spring 36, the ends of which are anchored as at W in the respective hub portions of ratchets 4B and 45.

Pivoted at 48 to spool head 25 is a pawl 49 for Pawl 49 is spring-tensioned in any suitable manner as by blade spring 58 and has an end portion 5! disposed through a slot 52 in spool head 25'. Pawl end ii is normally retained against'the spool body 25 by virtue. of the fact that one turn 26' of the parachute shrouds 26, laid over a retaining member 53 on said spool body 24, normally presses against said pawl end, the shouds themselves being laid in a single group around the spool body with the inner end of the group an chored to the spool body by a suitableclip 54. The pressure of shroud group 28' against pawl end 5i is normally sumcient to hold pawl 89 out of engagement with ratchet 45 until turn Z'B'of the shroud group is unwound from the spool body and pawl end 5i thereby permitted to rise from its position against the spool body. When this occurs, blade spring 50 tends to force pawl 49 into engagement with ratchet 45, thereby causing spool body 24 to b locked to ratchet 45.

Inasmuch as pawl 4| is maintained by its spring 43 in constant engagement with its ratchet 40, said pawl and ratchet function to provide a frictional drag and locking means against back-lash of spool body 24. The spool unit, however, is free to turn in an unwinding direction until the turn 26' of the parachute shrouds releases pawl end 5! so that it can rise away from the spool body, whereupon spring 50 forces pawl 49 into engagement with ratchet 65 and locks the spool body to said ratchet. The torsional spring 46 thereupon becomes efiective to exert an increasing resistance to the unwinding action of the spool body and acts as a shock absorber to counter-act jerky or uneven opening of the parachute.

Sleeve-release cable 31 is contained within a flexible 'cabl'e casing 55, commonly known as Bowden wire casing (see Fig. 8). Casing 55 consists essentially of a closely coiled wire, covered by a braided fabric, and while flexible enough to be readily wound with the shrouds 26 around the spool body is non-compressible in a linear direction. It is of a length approximating the distance from the top of the out-stretched parachute to the anchored end of the shrouds 25 on the spool body, and is integrally attached to the top of the parachute in any suitable manner, as

by means of eyelet 56.

The inner end of cable 31 is in contact with a strip 51 of abrasive coated fabric or the like (see Fig. 3) one end of which is attached to the spool body. Strip 5! is wound around the spool body in the desired number of turns with the inner end of the cable disposed between the turns.

By permitting cable 31 to be selectively released at some predetermined point in the unwinding rotation of the spool body 24 (such point depending upon the number of turns of the fabric strip 51 laid around the spool body 24) I gain considerable latitude as to the time when, in the unwinding operation of the spool, said cable 51 shall be freed of the spool and the sleeve detached from the parachute so that it may float away without danger of fouling the parachute.

It will further be seen that the described spool assembly provides for considerable adjustment with respect to the number of turns of the shroud group laid around spool body 24 before the ratchet-controlling turn 26' is laid around retainer 53, thereby enabling me to regulate the degree of shock absorbing action to be applied to be parachute shrouds.

The parachute is normally maintained in packed condition within the compartment defined by discs 29 and 30 and is released by collapse of the disc-like cover 32. Cover 32 may be made of any suitable material but is preferably of plastic material and preferably consists of a plurality, here shown as four, similar segments (see Fig. 7) provided with peripheral projections 59 adapted to engage and be retained by a peripheral groove 6 in the flare case I0.

Fastened to a pair of diametrically opposite segments is a pair of clips 6| adapted to detachably receive the ends of a V-shaped locking member 63 disposed within the space between cover 32 and disc 33.

One end of sleeve cord 19 is made fast to said locking member, and the relation of the clips 6| to the ends of locking member 63 is such that said locking member is positively retained in position by the clips when disposed parallel to said cover, as shown in Figs. 1, 6 and 7, but may be freely disengaged from said clips when swung, by means of cord l9, into a position at right angles to said cover, thereby to permit collapsing of said cover and withdrawal of the parachute from the flare case.

Cooperating with the locking member 63 is a locking cup 64, also disposed in the space between locking curve 32 and disc 33, and retained at the center of cover 32 with its upturned edge bearing against the ends of locking member 63.

By this construction, the segments of collapsible cover 32 are clamped in alignment between the locking cup 64 and the spacer 3| so that a force acting upon the spacer 3| in the direction of the arrow A in Fig. 6 will cause said segments to buckle and separate upon detachment of locking member 63 from clips Bl Cover 32 is peripherally notched as at 65 centrally between the projections 59 to receive the sleeve shrouds 36.

Securely attached to each sleeve shroud and disposed in the space between locking cover 32 and disc 30 is one or more beads 56 adapted to resist withdrawal of said shrouds in the direction of the arrow B in Fig. 6, the position of the shrouds on the locking cover with respect to projections 59 being such, however, that a strain on the shrouds in the direction indicated does not tend to collapse said cover. If desired, I may mount a peripherally notched disc 30 of cardboard or the like in the space between disc 35 and cover 32 for the purpose of both centrally positioning spacer 3! and retaining beads 66 against accidental displacement. The shrouds 36 are threaded through the notches of disc 30' and connected as at 36' to sleeve-release cable 31.

The operation is as follows:

Before the flare is launched from the flare rack on the plane, cover 38 is manually removed and hang-wire 3B is attached to the launching rack. When the flare is actually launched, stress is placed on hang-wire 39 which thereupon with draws the folded pilot sleeve. As said sleeve is withdrawn by said hang-wire, both discs 34 and 33 are stripped from the case, exposing locking member 63, which by means of cord I 9 is first swung into position at right angles to its normal folded position and then automatically detached from clips 6 I.

By this time, the hang-wire has severed from the launching rack on the aircraft, so that the flare falls free, guided by the now-opened sleeve 35 and the stabilizing fins II. By this time also, cord l9 has exerted a pull on cable l8, thus r'eleasing the escapement of the timing unit so that said timing unit can begin to function.

. When the flare reaches the level at which it was set to operate, the timing motor releases the case-ejecting spring I! which thereupon expands to cause the flare case to be stripped from the illuminant assembly.

The expanding action of spring ll has the effect of bringing pressure to hear at the center of locking cover 32 thereby to collapse said cover and release the case H! which falls free, together with the coversegments and the various spacers and discs. The sleeve 35 then draws the parachute into position for inflation as the spool is rotated in its unwinding direction, but subject to the shock-absorbing action exerted by the torsional spring 46. Through the function of auxiliary timing mechanism in housing I6 which provides an interval sufliciently long to enable the parachute to stabilize itself, ignition of candle is effected. With the consumption of the first fire composition in the illuminant container [2, the housing I6 is released and perthe spirit and scope of my invention as defined by the appended Claims.

-What I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an aerialflare, a flare case, a candle, a parachute, and a parachute-stabilizing sleeve removably mounted in superimposed order within said flare case, a spool rotatably mounted upon the upper end of said candle, shrouds attached to said parachute and wound upon said spool, a sleeve-release cable attached to said sleeve and wound simultaneously with said shrouds upon said spool, and a strip of friction-surfaced materialwound around the spool and anchored at one end thereto and between the turns of which a portion of said sleeve-release cable is laid, whereby said cable may be detached from said spool at a predetermined point in the unwinding of the parachute shrouds from said spool.

2. An aerial flare, comprising a flare case, a candle and a parachute and its shrouds removably mounted within said case, means for attaching the parachute to the upper end of the candle com-prising a hollow spool body rotatably mounted on the candle and upon which the parachute shrouds are wound, a shaft within said spool body, a ratchet adjacent one end of said shaft having a hub disposed within said spool body, a torsional spring coiled about said shaft withinsaidspool body and anchored at one end to the hub of said ratchet, a pawl pivotally mounted adjacent said ratchet, a pawl spring, and means normally holding said pawl out of engagement with said ratchet comprising a tail portion on said pawl disposed in proximity to 3. The flare of claim 2, and a second pawl and ratchet at the opposite end of said shaft for preventing back-lash of said spool when it is rotated in its unwinding direction.

. 4. In an aerial flare, a flare case having an annular locking groove, a parachuteand its shrouds 3 foldably positioned within said case below said groove, a parachute-stabilizing sleeve and its shrouds foldably positioned within said case above said groove, and a cover for said parachute detachably positioned within said case opposite said groove and comprising a plurality of segments having spaced locking projections normally retained within said groove and adapted to be independently released from each other and from the case when predetermined pressure is exerted against the cover in an upward direction, said cover further having spaced notches in its periphery intermediate of said locking projections to receive the shrouds of the stabilizing sleeve.

5. The flare of claim 4, and projections on the sleeve shrouds to abut said cover and resist withdrawal of the shrouds in an upward direction so long as said cover is locked in said groove.

6. The flare of claim 4, and a discv disposed beneath said cover but spaced therefrom, said disc having notches spaced about its periphery through which shrouds of the stabilizing sleeve are pressed.

'7. The flare of claim 4, and an annular spacer of less diameter than the cover disposed against the under face of the cover and acting to apply pressure in an upward direction against the cencandle and a parachute and its shrouds removably mounted within said case, means for attaching the parachute to the upper end of the can dle comprising a spool r-otatably mounted on the candle and upon which the parachute shrouds are wound, a parachute stabilizing sleeve removably mounted within said flare case above said parachute, a sleeve-release cable connected to said sleeve and wound simultaneously with said parachute shrouds upon said spool, and means whereby said cable may be detached from said spool at a predetermined point in the unwinding of the parachute shrouds from said spool.

9. The flare of claim 8, and means controlled by the unwinding action of the parachute shrouds from thespool for applying an increasing resistance to the rotation of the spool in its unwinding direction.

10. The flare of claim 8, and a torsional spring connected to said spool and controlled by the unwinding action of the shrouds from the spool for applying an increasing resistance to the rotation of said spool in its unwinding direction.

11. An aerial flare, comprising a flare case, a candle removably mounted within said case, a parachuteattached to said, candle and foldably positioned within said case above the candle, a collapsible cover positioned above said parachute and normally locked to said case, a normally compressed spring within said case beneath said can- 4 die, a locking member detachably mounted upon JOHN F. CAVANAGH. 

